As Fall descends on the Western Greenway, my singletrack commute home starts to take a little longer. |
Showing posts with label Mountain Biking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mountain Biking. Show all posts
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Fall On the Western Greenway
Sunday, September 30, 2012
More Weston Singletracks (September 2012)
The bike was tired. I was fine though. Really. |
Labels:
Massachusetts,
Mountain Biking,
Singletrack,
Weston
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
2011 Giant Talon 29er 1
Meet the 2011 Giant Talon 29er 1 |
Labels:
29er,
Gear Review,
Giant Talon,
Giant Trance,
Mountain Biking,
Suntour,
Western Greenway
Friday, September 21, 2012
Wild Wild Weston (July 2012)
A really trashy part of Weston. No really. You're looking at a pile of trash. |
Eight lanes of asphalt highway are all that separate the towns of Waltham and Weston, Massachusetts. These hundred or so feet divide people making around $50,000 a year from those making closer to $200,000. Perhaps this is the unspoken math that has prevented Weston from embracing a rail trail to connect the two communities. While they might shop together at the Auburndale Star Market, the folks in Weston are a little reluctant to invite the masses into their manicured back yards.
Regardless of the reason, the reluctance to develop a paved trail along the old railbed connecting Waltham with the rest of Western Massachusetts is a gift to fat tire bikers.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Lexington Singletracks (July 2012)
Not exactly a straight line. |
The Minuteman Bikeway in MetroWest Boston is one of the most
famous rail trails in the country. And
with good reason. It provides a scenic
and historic byway from Cambridge
all the way to Bedford . Along the
way it visits the town centers of Arlington
and Lexington with their excellent
restaurants and cultural attractions. It
is gem. But it is also an attention
whore.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Highland Mountain Bike Park: The High Dive (July 2012)
Home of the unearned turn. |
While I was growing up our local pool had a high dive that
towered above the water. It was a
horrifying and exhilarating thing.
Rumors abounded about “this kid” who slipped and fell to the pavement onto
his head, or “that kid” who did a can-opener the wrong way and split his gut
wide open when he hit the water. It was
probably only fifteen feet high, but back then it felt like a hundred. It was a rite of passage to make your way up
to the board and take your first leap. It
was the kind of place where you tested your meddle and became one of the big kids.
Sometimes I’m reminded of the feeling I got on my first trip
up that slippery metal ladder and out onto the thin, shaky board.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
(Way) Beyond the Minuteman: Estabrook Woods (July 2012)
Somewhere between Concord and Carlisle, MA. |
“You’re not lost if you’re not supposed to be anywhere”, I kept
telling myself as I turned onto yet another unmarked singletrack in an unknown
direction. It was one o’clock in the afternoon on a Thursday and I was wandering
around Estabrook Woods somewhere near Concord , MA . I was following my “inner compass” toward
what I believed to be the ice cream stands of Carlisle ,
but without checking my GPS I wasn’t really sure where I might be headed. In other words: I was having fun.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Beyond the Northeast: Tokai Forest, Cape Town, South Africa
Like Andy, when my wife gets to travel someplace nice, I jump
at the opportunity to tag along. So when work took her to Africa this past
April we made plans to tack on a vacation in Cape Town, South Africa.
A week in an exotic locale with my wife is a rare luxury,
and one normally spent doing things as a couple. However, as it has been her
lifelong dream to dunk herself in a cage in great-white-shark-infested waters,
it has been my dream for at least as long to avoid stomach-churning boat rides
and proffering my body as shark chum. So when she announced the intent to spend
one day of the vacation at sea I began searching for the perfect Cape Town
mountain bike guide.
Well, I found him. A fortuitous internet search led me to
Dan Dobinson and his bicycle touring company, iRide Africa. I made plans
to join a ride Dan was leading in Tokai Forest, an arboretum just outside of Cape Town. Giddy with excitement for the chance to ride on another
continent, I packed my bike shoes and shorts alongside sandals and swimsuit and
boarded a long, long plane ride to the southern tip of Africa.
Map of Tokai trails from the iRideAfrica website |
Labels:
Baboons,
Brad,
Cape Town,
Mountain Biking,
Quiche,
South Africa,
Tokai
Sunday, May 6, 2012
An April Doubleheader In the Kingdom
Sometimes April brings a rare opportunity to enjoy my two favorite sports: skiing and mountain biking. You would expect that a day where you could mix the two would lead to mediocre conditions for both. Typically the best you could hope for would be some turns on corn snow followed by a slog on some muddy singletrack. But last weekend provided an unbelievable opportunity to enjoy both sports at their best.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Strength in Numbers Trailer
Here's the trailer for "Strength in Numbers" a mountain biking movie coming to a theater near you this Summer.
In fact, if you live in the Boston area the movie premieres at 8PM on May 16, 2012 at the Jerry Remy Sports Bar on Boylston Street.
If you're looking for your 15 seconds of fame, be sure to upload a 15 second clip to Vimeo and follow the instructions on the event website for your footage to be included on the big screen.
Labels:
Biking Movies,
Media Review,
Mountain Biking
Thursday, April 26, 2012
New Zealand Stoke: A Flowy Singletrack Video
Do you like flowy singletrack as much as I do? Well then, here's a short (3 minute) promo by Tim Pierce of Justin Leov on the Deans Bank trail in Lake Wanaka, New Zealand. Enjoy!
Labels:
Biking Movies,
Media Review,
Mountain Biking,
Singletrack
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Nor'Easter San Diego: "The Long Way" (Big Laguna & Noble Canyon, CA)
If I knew where I was going I never would have made it here. |
Imagine for a moment, a mountain biking trail that runs up the Mt. Washington auto road in New Hampshire , across the Presidential ridge and then winds slowly down into the Gulf of Slides, crossing various spines and ravines all the way down to Pinkham Notch: a four thousand foot, eleven mile descent on
pure singletrack.
This is roughly equivalent to what is lurking in theLaguna
Mountains of southern California .
This is roughly equivalent to what is lurking in the
Labels:
Big Laguna,
California,
Mountain Biking,
Noble Canyon,
San Diego
Friday, April 13, 2012
Nor'Easter San Diego: Mission Trails & Lessons In Mud
This is right about the time I started to wonder if I needed to carry the bike back to the parking lot. |
Labels:
California,
Mission Trails,
Mountain Biking,
San Diego
Friday, January 6, 2012
Flor'Easter: Day 10- Balm Boyette:
Running Ridgeline. |
I started into my dive and the familiar tug in the pit of my stomach made me briefly consider clenching the brakes. However, the sandy, wet concrete honeycomb holding the trail together wouldn’t tolerate even the slightest braking. It threatened a fishtailing disaster to those who dared to defy its pull. As my speed exploded and I neared the bottom, I felt the bike drifting to one side of the track. I was headed off of the safety of the honeycomb toward the sandy rock strewn edges and certain ski-season-ending catastrophe.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Flor'Easter: Day 9- Alafia Trails - Transformations
Don't take that corner too quickly. |
I know, I skipped a day. Sue me.
My Florida adventure moved to the Gulf coast where I met up with an old friend, Dave, who showed me around his home course: Alafia Trails in Lithia, Florida . It was a day of celebrating transformations and new beginnings.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Flor'Easter: Day 6- Mala Compra
Nearly two hundred years ago Seminole warriors burned what used to be a cotton plantation to the ground. Today, the forest that covers part of that land houses some of the best mountain biking trails in Florida.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Flor'Easter: Day 5- Graham Swamp Trail(s)
FOMBA with palm trees. |
I'm happy to say that the day did not disappoint. It was epic.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
-Trip Report- Lowell-Dracut-Tyngsboro State Forest: The Silver Line (November 2011)
After the leaves have fallen, the Silver Line magically appears. Pressed from the foliage, the tannins retreat into the soil bringing relief to mountain bikers fumbling along leaf covered trails.
For a few fleeting weeks, it lends a helping hand until the snow claims the forest floor.
Thank you, Silver Line. Thank you, Mr. November.
More photos after the jump.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Millstone Hill Trails: The Video
It looks like mountain biking weather for another weekend, so in celebration (okay consolation) I put together a video from my recent trip to Millstone Hill with Brad.
According to the Millstone management, this is the last weekend that the trails are open. So get out and enjoy them while you still can!
Labels:
Millstone Hill,
Mountain Biking,
Vermont
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